THE Ondo State Police Command, stated that the communal unrest that broke out in the Kajola and Koseru communities of the state’s Odigbo Local Government Area resulted in the deaths of some members of the vigilante group.
According to the reports, some hoodlums from Ilaje Local Government raided the towns yesterday, killing people and damaging property, which led to a communal crisis.
A source said that there were fears that the communal fighting resulted in the deaths of several members of the affected communities, some police officers, and other security personnel.
But in a statement released today, the state police command refuted claims that the fight resulted in the deaths of police officers and other security personnel.
The state Police Public Relations Officers of the state, Funmilayo Odunlami, in a statement revealed that the state Commissioner of Police, Oyediran Oyeyemi, had ordered the arrest of the perpetrators of the dastardly act while normalcy had been restored in the warring areas.
The statement read, “Normalcy has returned to Kuseru Village, a community where there was a communal clash. On December 9, 2022, a case of attempted murder was reported at Kajola Division, that a woman Julianah Alaba Abejoye ‘ was shot by two masked men on her farm at Ogbontiba via Kuseru with a locally-made double-barrelled gun and escaped. She sustained injuries on the arm and thigh and was rushed to the Hospital for treatment.
“On December 10, 2022, at about 10 am, in what seemed to be reprisal attacks, Aiyetoro boys in their numbers attacked Kuseru Village, set ablaze the motorcycle parks, killed livestock, destroyed motorcycles and cut down plantain trees.
“Police Contingents were quickly dispatched to the scene, while on Patrol of the villages, corpses of vigilantes were met at the palace of baale of Kuseru Village who were said to have been allegedly ambushed and killed.
“The Commissioner of Police, Yemi Oyediran, visited the scene, urged all parties involved to sheath their sword and allow police to carry out a thorough investigation on what really happened.
“He further ordered that the area commander and DPO of the area should ensure all culprits involved in the arson and murder be arrested and prosecuted accordingly.
Tactical teams of the command have been deployed to aid the activities of policemen in the area. The CP is also using this medium to allay the fears of the residents around Kuseru, Aiyetoro and Ago Alafia and Ondo State at large that nothing untoward will happen to them as adequate security is emplaced to ensure a hitch-free celebration during this period.”
